After Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain last Sunday (19) in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Messi and his teammates left MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (USA) in silence.

Still on the pitch, while the Spaniards celebrated their second world title, the Albiceleste No. 10 was overcome with emotion.

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At 39 years old, this was likely Lionel Messi’s last World Cup.

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This Monday (20), however, the Argentine idol used his social media profile to break the silence.

Messi did not confirm that he is retiring from the World Cup, but admitted that the end of the dream of back-to-back titles, which would have meant Argentina’s “fourth star,” brought “a great deal of pain.”

In his message, the No. 10 made a point of praising Argentina’s journey to the final and highlighted the unity between the players and the Argentine people.

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“The pain is very great and it will take time for this wound to heal. But I also cherish all the good things… The matches we turned around, giving everything we had, which will stay in our memories forever, the support of an entire country that, together with the work and effort of this group, led us to once again be among the best in the world. Today it is hard to appreciate what we achieved, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and every message. Once again, we managed to come together as a country and all be united, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine.

I also want to congratulate Spain on the title”.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.